Saturday, September 14, 2013

Christina Alice

Chulayo (“born in the night”) was given his name because he
was …born in the night!

Kulamo (“to gather”) has her name because…. many gathered
for her birth!

Sofo (“faster”) was named because he came from his mother…faster!

Daniel, Elizabeth, Mercy, and Joseph--

(also known by their Kenyan names)

Dagti, Lagoya, Ntare, and Incaracha

The adults I talk with find it quite strange to name a child
before they are born. How will you know the circumstances surrounding the
birth- whether it’s raining or daytime or underneath an acacia tree?

Like most of you reading this, I was given my name before I
was born. With my older sister Jackie as a cue, my parents avoided their first
choice of Jillian in fear of a lifetime of mockery (Jack and Jill went up a
hill…) and instead settled on Christina.

When it came to a middle name, the choice was more clear. After my sister had
been named after my mom’s mother, I would be named after my dad’s mother.

Alice.

I have to admit, when I was six years old, I wasn’t thrilled
with the name Alice. It felt out-of-date, and I secretly envied those with more
modern, cool names. But over time, I came to see the beauty in being named
after my grandmother, and greatly appreciated such an honor.

My grandmother was a special woman. She raised five children
to love God and to live their lives in light of that love, with her life as a
prime example. She was a leader within their church’s youth group, spurring on
many young people to take their faith seriously, and to commit to following the
Lord with their lives. She travelled the world with my grandfather, and they
made friends wherever they went because of their friendly, compassionate
demeanors. They even joined the Peace Corps after retirement because of their
desire to make a difference!

It’s needless to say that I would not be who I am today or
where I am today without the influence of my grandma.

My grandparents with their 4 children and my mom

A few weeks ago, my grandmother suffered a stroke and a few
days later, passed away. Although it is always sad and tragic when a life comes
to an end, my family can celebrate the incredible life she lived. We can
celebrate the love she had for Jesus and the way she spent her life serving
Him. And we can celebrate the fact that she is now in heaven with her Lord, and
has seen him face-to-face! Her faith is no longer, for it has become sight.

There were many conversations on what I could do, what I
would do. But ultimately, with it already being a natural break-time from
school, the decision was easy. I wanted to go home, be with my family, and
honor my grandmother and the legacy she left behind.

What a privilege to carry her name, to bear the name of
Alice.

Yet there is another name I bear, an even higher privilege
that I have each and every day of my life. When I call myself a Christian, I am
inherently bringing the name of Christ on my life. This is both an awe-inducing
and fear-inspiring result of trusting and following after Him. To be considered
worthy to have his name a part of mine? Unbelievable. To carry the weight of
knowledge of his perfect name collided with my very imperfect life? Somewhat
terrifying.

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [Romans 10:13]

But what is perhaps most astounding of all is the fact that
Christ loves me, loves each of us so much that he wants us to have his name. He wants us to take his name, even
knowing that we will sometimes take it and misuse it, drag it in the mud behind
us, or at times be ashamed of it or ignore it altogether. As Christians,
sometimes we do a pretty poor job of representing Christ, but that doesn’t
change who He is. I pray that when people look at flawed Christians (all of
us), they would not think differently on the person of Christ, but rather see
the God who wants to redeem imperfect people and call them His own, faults and
all.

So today, as I reflect on my grandmother and my Savior,
perhaps you, too, will consider the names you bear. More than anything, I hope
that you would carry the name of Christ and live in response to the life he
lived, the life that changed this world.

We do not become who we are alone. We all live in the light
of someone’s legacy.

1 comment:

Another solid post! Pointing us back to our identities being rooted in Christ first! My name Michael, is from the bible after the prince of the angels; since I was my parent's little prince (only son). And my Chinese middle-name, I'm told means "with grace" or "full of grace". Since my parents were thankful God protected me with his Grace during my mom's pregnancy with me and the complications during it.